wylanslcve's reviews
365 reviews

kabru is such a great foil to laios and I can't wait to see more of their dynamic unfold in future volumes. also the portrayal of hayfever in this volume was so visceral but honestly incredibly accurate.

“I'm not even human. Something as sophisticated as a heart wouldn't suit me.”

I'm going to try and string my thoughts together in the most coherent way I possibly can, but I don't think I'm going to be very successful in doing so. in short, this light novel wrecked me. despite his popularity, nakahara chūya is a character we learn very little about in the main bungo stray dogs manga. he's admittedly a very cool character, but not one who is very fleshed out in the main story, especially in comparison to other bsd characters. much of his character building is done in the light novels that take place prior to the events of the manga - namely dazai, chūya, age fifteen and storm bringer, which asagiri refers to as the twin dark past arc in the afterword of this particular novel.

I would like to preface this by saying that, no, this is not "the soukoku novel". while we do see more of the early days of chūya and dazai's relationship in this novel, this is primarily a story about chūya. a tumultuous one at that. to put it bluntly, this entire light novel hurt from start to finish. I was foolish to think I would be able to handle the contents of this story. I was, in fact, very, very wrong. chūya is a character who, just like virtually every other bsd character, has suffered, has known pain and trauma all too well - and we see so much of that pain in graphic detail throughout these 337 pages. and it hurts. it really, really does.

not only is this light novel an exploration of chūya's past and trauma, it's also a commentary on humanity and what it means to be human. at its core, bsd is a story about humans, but this novel takes a much deeper dive into the notion of humanity and what exactly constitutes it. each of the characters in this story have their own ideas of what it means to be human and their own relationship with humanity - be it chūya spending the majority of this novel desperately trying to figure out if he, himself, is a human being; adam being a literal AI investigator and learning what it means to be human; verlaine despising humanity and actively detaching himself from it and not considering himself human (for reasons that I won't get into because of spoilers); or dazai and his fascination with the connection between suffering and the human condition. I could discuss each of these points at length, but I won't do that here simply because I'll have to get into spoilers and I'll be here forever if I start talking about any one of them.

apart from the writing feeling a bit iffy at times (though I think that's more an issue of translation) and me not understanding the physics behind chūya and verlaine's abilities (my physics knowledge is incredibly limited and there were times where it interfered with my understanding of the story), this was fantastic and is definitely my favourite of the bsd light novels I've read thus far. I fear I will never recover from this.

having already watched (and loved) the anime, I was quite taken aback by how much more well-paced this part of the story is in the manga than in its adaptation. that being said, I love how this series manages to balance the comedic and lighthearted tone with its darker moments - it doesn’t feel like complete emotional whiplash, but it somehow makes those darker moments hit so much harder because the comedy, in a way, leaves the audience vulnerable. I love this series so much!

falin and marcille my beloveds <3

we've broken away from the first volume's episodic structure and are starting to delve deeper into the story and the world, but it's still so much fun. these characters are so endearing and I love them so much.

I've already watched the first season of the anime, but I decided to read the manga as I (very patiently) wait for season two to be released. that being said, this series is so utterly ridiculous but so creative and I can't wait to delve deeper into this world!

while this book was incredibly repetitive at times; the writing style is nothing spectacular; and you can piece the ending together from rather early on; I can't help but feel inclined to rate it 4 stars. it's such a raw and harrowing exploration of guilt, generational trauma and mental illness that is relevant now more than ever. yara's journey is one that is very personal to me and one that was, at times, incredibly difficult to read, as, in her pain and experiences, I saw so many elements of myself and the women around me (as an arab myself, although yara and I come from different backgrounds since I'm not palestinian) - to the extent where, at multiple points in the story, I had to pause my audiobook and sit in silence for a few minutes to process what I'd listened to before I could press "play" again.

what made this an even more hard-hitting narrative, however, was the fact that yara is palestinian-american. the discussions of israel's colonial oppression of palestine through the "yara's journal" segments of this novel were all too relevant, given the escalation of violence in palestine by israel over the last 16 months. stories like these desperately need to be told, and we need to continue to amplify the voices of palestinians as they continue to endure genocide and oppression.

I wish I could write a more comprehensive review of this novel, but there are so many thoughts clouding my mind and I need to sit with them for a bit longer. overall, this book was fantastic and one that I will continue to think about for a while.

I have not shut up about how much I adore hoshikawa’s artstyle and how much darker and more eerie it makes the story but the way she illustrates the old port mafia boss specifically? it’s HORRIFYING in the best way possible. 

chūya looks extra disgruntled in hoshikawa's artstyle and I love it so much.

I’m only one volume in and I’m LOVING this adaptation so far! hoshikawa’s artstyle is gorgeous and so unique — not only is it perfect for bsd, but it also enhances the darker elements of the light novel and makes them infinitely more unsettling. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the story is adapted in future volumes.